Ethan (English version)
by IshmaelMiller
Summary: (Canceled) OC. Follow Joel and Ellie's steps across the country with Ethan and his group, wishing to atone for past sins.
1. Brothers

**A/N- This is a translation of a fanfic that I finished some time ago; as my english is not perfect it may contain some mistakes here and there, so I apologize for that. Also, while the original fic is finished this translation is still a work in progress so it will take a while to translate and upload all the chapters.**

 **With that said, here's the story of Ethan, just another person in this rotten world that tries to make a change, or at least tries to be part of it, and his journey to join the Fireflies.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

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 **Chapter 1 -Brothers**

He was safe at last. Three days all by himself; he thought he'd be strong enough, he thought he could make it, but drowned in sorrow he started to realize what was reality and what was fiction, and he felt that dichotomy growing as the timed passed by; he remembered when he told them, his 'partners', that he could live without them, that he didn't need them. He damned them and damned their lifestyle; he didn't want to live as that anymore, pretending to be fine with himself; there wasn't such thing as a ' greater good', and if it was, it wasn't worth it, after everything he had to get done in his life. All that talk was now dust in the air, and the worst part was that he didn't want to forget his intentions, but he felt that something was dying inside of him, dying alongside his will.

The truth is that he leaved his group; he wasn't a hunter anymore, after five years living with blood on his hands. But life hadn't been kind to him, as usual, and after three days trying not to die in the hands of another group, he hadn't have even five hours to sleep peacefully, and his body was telling him that he was demanding too much. He was trying to avoid any building dark enough to be a potential place to find clickers or stalkers; after all, he never fought them alone.

His face was tired, and his eyes demanded rest, but he knew he couldn't give up; it couldn't end that way. He didn't remember being like that in years; after all, alongside his group, food was never a big problem. "Food," he thought; he was hungry as hell.

It was dark, probably midnight, but at least that damned trucked wasn't following him anymore. He rested for a couple of minutes, recovering his breath, lying on the floor in an abandoned shop; he tried to look for something to eat but it was useless. It was time to move, he thought, but then he remembered something that he didn't want to: he didn't know where to go, he didn't have a clue. He only knew one thing, and that was that he didn't want to continue being surrounded by people that he defined as evil; twenty years had been enough to wipe out almost every trace of morality on earth, but he once lived in that world, the previous one; it wasn't perfect, or at least that is what he remembered, but it wasn't like this one: kindness, respect, even love: this world didn't know such things at all. Just as he abandoned all his 'comrades' back with the hunters after years surviving: those kind of things happened all the time. But then what's left of the world? Nothing but brutality and cruelty… But it couldn't be like that; he couldn't be the only one that believed in those ideals even after two decades in a whole new world. He knew that he was a hypocrite talking about respecting the life of others; his hands were as bloody as the worst killer, but he couldn't be the only one that was able to see the world in a different way. He had to find people like him, people that still would have faith in humanity.

It was during the night that his call was finally answered. He was exploring an exit that could lead him out of the city: out of that hell, but then he encountered two people; it was just after entering a room from which he could inspect that exit and the hunters that were protecting it. Quickly, he aimed his Colt revolver, but in reality he was bluffing for his life; he didn't have any bullets. He was nervous, both his head and his hands, and he saw how that unknown person also had a pistol aimed at him, but it wasn't until, in the darkness of the night, he saw the other man that he calmed down. It wasn't a man: it was a boy. He lived five years as a hunter, and the rules weren't unknown to him: no kids; they were hard to train, they were immature, and could easily ruin a well-planned assault. He lowered the gun slowly, just as he noticed that the man with the gun was lowering his too. They were probably brothers.

"You are not one of them, are you?" He asked first; deception was a daily routine, but he was ready to risk his life. If that man was someone like him, then it was definitely worth it.

The unknown man just stared at him, finally lowering the gun completely, and for a moment he could see that stranger lowering also his shoulders after a good scene.

"You really had me there," the unknown man answered, with more of a happy tone, weird in that situation, if not funny, but then he talked to the boy. "Sam, come here, there's no problem: he's not one of them."

Then the boy appeared from the shadows, he should've been like fourteen at most: he had won that gamble.

"My name is Henry, and this is Sam, my brother. What's your name?"

"… Ethan" he answered, with a little smile drawn on his face, "Ethan."

For the first time in three long ass days he had found someone that didn't want to kill him. But again: it was still a gamble, and he had risked his life doing that. Five years… it was worth it, even if all he'd get from that was a bullet in the chest.

"Well, Ethan, apart from the fact that you almost made me shoot you, what's your business here?"

"I'm actually trying to get out of this city… I was exploring the outsides when a truck started following me… I had no chance but to try to hide in the city, but it wasn't a good idea…"

"Sounds like a shitty life if you ask me," Henry answered, again with his light tone; Ethan didn't know if he was doing that to light the mood, or he was just like that, "we had the wonderful idea of exploring the city to find supplies… you know; something to keep us alive, but the last thing I remember is being ambushed by that very same truck alongside my group, we had no chance but to split up… we're trying to figure out how to get to them again… but with that truck out there that's no easy task… what about you? Are you all by yourself?"

Ethan had a little flashback then: Mike tried to convince him of not leaving the group. Mike was just like him, but unfortunately he had gave up on life; all to survive. But even with that he wasn't happy about it, after all he was his only true friend in that place.

"No," he answered, "I'm alone."

"You must be crazy, my friend," Henry answered, but with the best of intentions, "with all those things around there, you live with your gang or you just don't live… I'll tell you something… with Sam we're trying to get to our group; you come with us until we get to them: three is better than two… and even better than one… we get out of this hole, and then you can go whenever you want… you could even join our group… and don't look to that window," he said, pointing at the exit Ethan was inspecting before, "that exit is not an option, hunters guarding it 24 hours a day."

Henry's idea wasn't crazy at all; both sides gained something: after all he was good avoiding problems, and sometimes facing them, and Sam couldn't be much less if he was still alive after two decades.

"I'll go with you," he finally answered, making Henry smile a little, "do you have some bullets?" he laughed

The good thing about the night was that sneaking was easier, hiding in the shadows without being spotted by hunters patrolling the streets, and by doing that they could avoid entering dark buildings; they could protect them from the hunters, but not from the clickers or stalkers. He didn't tell anyone, but in secret he was scared of them: being attacked by one, or even worse: being one.

And it was after an hour walking in the streets of Pittsburgh that they reached an abandoned house clean enough to look friendly; they entered it and decided to take a break. It wasn't the walk or the lack of sleep; it was the feeling of being spotted every second, to run for your life what tired him the most. One can live being stressed for a long time, but can't deny the side effects.

"What's your plan after finding your friends?" Ethan asked, more confident, "I suppose is not just wandering around there."

In reality, that question was for himself, but if Henry had an answer, he was more than happy to hear it. He needed something like that: he needed a guide. In the end, he couldn't see his fate having nothing to do with those two brothers.

"Actually, we want to join the fireflies… you know, live with them, and try to help to end all this shit we're living in, doesn't it sound good?"

"Actually… yes."

The fireflies, that group of people trying to find a cure. Unfortunately, for him there was no light to seek, and by the time he joined his group of hunters all hope was lost about even consider finding a cure something possible. But there was something in Henry's voice, or his tone, that made him reconsider his decision.

"After we get out of this hole… can I join your group? I'd like to join the fireflies too… if they're looking for a cure… they can't be that bad."

Without even knowing it, he had chosen his future. Yes, it was true that the fireflies couldn't find the cure in all those years, but if they we're trying to find it, if they wanted to help humanity, they couldn't be worse that the hunters; he'd join them and find a place to be in peace with himself.

"Of course," Henry answered, "one more man worth saving is never a bad thing… my friends will like you."

He was in a city full of hunters trying to kill him, but even like that, he then had a moment of true joy and happiness. He wasn't alone, and that emotion gave him the strength needed to continue walking through the streets. At least the truck wasn't shooting at them.

But then they both found themselves taken by surprise when a clicker entered the room. They tried to stay silent, but Sam fell to the floor while trying to escape, giving his position to the clicker immediately: Henry instinctively protected him just as the clicker would go berserk at them, but they both were saved by Ethan, who took down the infected with his revolver. But it wasn't the end; they knew that shots could only mean that more clickers would come looking for preys, and that hunters in the nearby areas would've heard them. The three of them made a quick run through some streets before reaching the ruins of a shop in which they fell to the floor to take a quick break.

"Sam, don't ever do that again… you see a clicker, you shoot the clicker… you don't just stay there waiting for it to bite you," Henry was definitely nervous: it was his little brother after all.

"I know… I know… it's the rule… it's just that…" Sam was also angry, but something didn't come out of his mouth at that moment and Ethan could see what it was.

"Have you ever faced them?" Ethan asked to the boy, "you're afraid of those things… you're scared of them?"

Sam looked at him for a couple of seconds before admitting it. Ethan then explained their common fear, but at the same time he added all his experiences with them; he'd never faced them alone, always with his 'comrades', but he'd keep telling himself that he just couldn't give in to the fear: he'd had to face them. Somehow then, Sam appreciated the little talk: he just had to try to face his fears.

"You're even better than at this kind of things," Henry said, after Ethan's little speech was over, "but, if you don't mind… what happened to you comrades?"

That group was big, but he only remembered Mike, Howard, Pat… even Francis; he hated him. He then noticed that even living that horrible life, he could still remember some happy moments in that place, surrounded by nothing but hunters… and being a hunter. Happy moments that didn't involve killing innocent people.

"They're dead."

"I'm sorry, "Henry answered, looking a bit introspective, "I wouldn't know what to do if someone important to me would end that way," he was referring to Sam, "but we'll get out of this one, I know it, and we'll join the fireflies."

They finally arrived at a theatre in the morning, tired but relieved; they were supposed to regroup at that place. But they couldn't find anyone there, not even bodies. There was nothing that'd tell them something about their friends, nothing at all. Both Henry and Sam realized what that could mean, trying to avoid thinking about the worst case.

"Perhaps they are taking their time," Ethan added, trying to light the mood, "maybe they had to split up again even after leaving you guys… you _tourists_ always try to survive by splitting up."

Ethan didn't notice anything in that moment, but after realizing how Henry was looking at him he felt what he just had said; it wasn't about the word only, it was the tone, the way of saying it.

"Your… 'friends'… what did they do for living?" the tone wasn't kind, and the expression on his face didn't help either; he was angry. "They were hunters, weren't they? You've killed a lot of innocent people?"

Ethan didn't move, and his five seconds silence was enough to prove him guilty. Henry quickly called Sam and pointed a gun at Ethan.

"It's people like you and your dead friends the ones that right now are trying to kill us!"

Ethan was seeing it: being shot by the person that was supposed to get him to the fireflies. His past unfortunately, couldn't be erased: he had been a hunter, and he had killed innocent people… to 'survive'.

But then Henry lowered the gun, but without erasing his expression of true anger.

"The thing's simple, uh? You were a hunter and now you're the hunted… does it feel bad? Perhaps now you feel what all those people felt before dying in your hands… you know what? Fuck you… die because of the same people as you… I won't waste my bullets with something like you."

He then took Sam by the arm and quickly started to walk away, but the threat was there; if Ethan gave just one step closer to them, he'd be shot right there. He'd been left there to die in the hands of hunters just like him, and the worst thing was that it seemed fair; it seemed fair to die there. Was it fair? It didn't really matter. Probably it was; after all, Henry did the right thing, grabbing Sam. It had happened.

Ethan, killing a boy around the same age as Sam, right after his friends killed his dad in front of him. All because of some cans with food.

He deserved it, even if he regretted doing that like hell, after a horrible crisis.

He deserved it, even if that was the reason why he'd have left his group. He deserved it.


	2. Liz

**Chapter 2 –Liz**

It had been two weeks since Pittsburgh, and Ethan's life had changed a little; yes, he didn't have Henry or Sam anymore and sometimes in the night while trying to get some sleep he would wonder about how they were doing in their journey to find the Fireflies, but now he had Liz, a twenty years old girl that had lost her group after being ambushed by clickers in their sleep. She was the only survivor because his dad had placed her near an emergency door that would only open from the inside. She never knew if her dad had sensed that something would happen that night, but the last thing she remembered was shooting the clickers while opening the door and starting to run for her life, but no one followed her. She thought that maybe after getting to a safe place her friends and dad would arrive, but she waited until the morning all alone. She would regret going back to the building later that day, only to see the corpses of her loved ones, including her father, who died just in front of the emergency exit.

Ethan and Liz had met by accident, one day in the afternoon while he was looking for bullets in an abandoned armory; most of the stuff had already been looted, but he managed to find some bullets and a shotgun under a table that everyone before just missed somehow, and then he saw her, in the floor.

His first impression of her was that she couldn't be a hunter of someone without morals; her face talked for her; she was terrified. Little he knew then about her story, so in order to calm her, and himself, he opened his hands putting away his new shotgun and his old gun, and after opening his backpack, leaving himself vulnerable, he proceeded to open a can of food to put it on the floor between the two of them, as a sign of help. She doubted for about ten seconds of complete silence between the two, and for a second he imagined her taking out a gun or some hunter ambushing him using her as bait. Just like with Henry and Sam in Pittsburgh, he was risking his life, but he was ready to face those risks if that was what it took to find people like him. In the end, the girl would slowly approach the can, to then starting eating like crazy; he didn't know: it was her second day without any kind of food.

"My name is Ethan," this time he started the names exchange, "what's yours?"

"… Elizabeth," she replied, after finishing her meal, "but everyone calls me Liz… called me Liz…"

Just by those words Ethan was able to draw a little picture of the girl's backstory; the world was an unfair and cruel place, and the worst thing is that those stories were the norm; as sad as it was she was a wanderer without her group, and if that didn't change she wouldn't have that much time left. The first thing that came to his head was a hunter being the culprit, alongside the hideous memories of his past. Mike, Howard, Francis, Derek and others: their 'hunting' thing day after day, killing people that he had to dehumanize in order to live without the remorse, and now he was face to face with a hungry, dirty and scared girl that was probably another victim of people that had chosen the same way of life that he had for all those years. He wondered then, just how many Liz's he had killed in the past, or how many people he had left in her state, all alone with their friends and family dead. The worst thing was that he had suppressed all that, probably to stay sane, and if that was true maybe quitting his life as a hunter was proof that something inside him at least was already crazy.

But now he was on the other side, helping a victim, giving her food. This time it wouldn't be the same, this time he'd protect Liz, and to be honest being thirty seven years old it wasn't hard for him to see her as a little sister.

"Diane…," he whispered then, while looking at her.

He stopped remembering, for his sake, and focused on his current situation. He hadn't seen hunters in that area, but that could also meant the presence of infected there and that was trouble; he talked to her, explaining that that place wasn't safe for the night and that he had found an abandoned fire station that would give them a comfortable place to rest.

The entrances were blocked, but some windows weren't. It was weird seeing a building and trying to figure out what had happened there; maybe one clicker had entered through one of those windows and that had forced the people living inside the place out for good; at least he was sure now that the place was clean. He blocked the windows and locked a door so it would only open from the inside; there was no way of entering the place while they slept.

"Are you alone too?" She asked then. In the middle of the night; they could barely see the face of each other in the darkness.

It was ironic; he had left his life as a hunter but ended alone again.

"Yes," he answered, while remembering those brothers that wanted to help changing the world, "I travel alone, what happened to your group?"

He hadn't thought twice about doing that question, and to be honest he was a little nervous about what her reaction could have been, but thanks to the lack of light her expression was hard to see.

"Some clickers ambushed us in our sleep, they all died… including my dad…"

Not hunters, but infected; any kind of relief about his past was nowhere to be seen, as he felt a deep despair within him: it didn't matter if it was hunters, clickers or the military; people died every day and that wouldn't change, only repeating itself over and over again. Maybe they would also die, and then it wouldn't matter the cause or the culprit; they would die.

"But you've been the first person that has helped me; my group consisted of my dad and some friends… but after that everyone we met tried to kill us."

It was dark, so that smile in his face was invisible for the two of them. It didn't change the fact of his life and past, but now for the first time in five years he felt that he was doing something right, even if he would have need that can in a couple of days, it didn't matter at all.

And that made that night the best one in a lot of time; something inside him was taking a rest at last, he didn't know what it was, but it felt good. He didn't even know how to name it or describe it.

But that would go back to who he was.

"I used to be a hunter" was the first thing he said to her in the morning, "but I'm not anymore."

She instantly changed her expression, becoming wary, distancing herself from him little by little. He had done it because he didn't want to hide it anymore, not like with Henry again; he had been a hunter, but not he wasn't one. If he could convince anyone that he hated his past more than anything else, then he could live better with himself. He had to leave behind the hunter, and start being just Ethan again, a wanderer looking for people in need.

"You can hate me if you want, but the truth is that I left that behind… I can't… I can't live with myself living that life anymore, and that's why I left them… my life has been a living hell since then, but at least I can be certain that for the first time I'm doing the right thing… that I can help someone other than myself," Liz kept her distance during that time, and Ethan was unable to know what was on her mind at the time; if she was about to running for her life from a killer, or if she would give him a chance, but he was scared of doing any move. If she chose running from him that would attract infected if they were in that area in the morning, putting her in trouble.

In the end he let it go, after seeing her going to the exit, he sat on the floor, looking at it . He couldn't force her to forgive him, or anyone; he couldn't force her to think that he had left that life behind him; he didn't have the right to. When he first killed an innocent man to loot his body he had lost that right too.

He remembered that tourist, his stained blue shirt, the expression on his face while he and the others would chase him, and when he shot him in the leg, making him fall to the ground, only for Francis to then shoot him in the head. His first hunt; that was his mark and the moment that had defined his present and future; of course at that time none of that was on his head; after all he was just 'surviving'.

He was lost, thinking about that tourist whose only mistake was walking in the same area that Ethan and his group had taken. But just when those memories were taking him to that time even further, he saw two legs approaching.

It was Liz.

She just stayed there, looking at him, with a face that, somehow, expressed pity for him; it was then that he realized he was crying. He tried to remember the last time he had done that before, but it was a memory too far for him to recreate at that moment, even before he would choose a hunter's life.

"I know I can't undo any of the things I did… I just want to help all those I have abandoned, "he said, before closing his eyes.

Ethan then felt two arms hugging him, it was her, maybe out of compassion, but that only reinforced his tears. The hunter inside of him was dead, and now he was Ethan at last for someone other than himself.

Living for someone else; he had forgotten how that felt a long time ago.

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 **A/N: Any kind of review is welcome, about the translation or the story itself. Thank you for reading.**


	3. Reasons

**Chapter 3 –Reasons**

He was sweating, and his arm was hurting because of a bullet that had just grazed it. At least the weather wasn't cruel that afternoon, looking at the red sky with some thin clouds between the little but numerous columns of smoke.

He stood up, looked at the scrambled soil that marked the tomb that he had just finished, his expression was empty, and something inside him felt indeed empty, and he started to slowly back down. The streets were empty as well in complete silence, just like a ghost town out of a tale; the smoke worked for the ambiance too.

"Did you do it?" Liz asked, after he had returned to the library, "now, let me bind up that wound, I don't want it to get infected or anything."

After sitting in a shelf, Liz carefully started treating his arm; he made an weird expression while trying not to shout when she applied the disinfectant, but looking at her face calmed him down, seeing how she was focused treating that wound; while it wasn't a serious injury at all it wound extend for about three centimeters across his arm, making it hurt to the touch.

"Don't be so stubborn, you should've done this before going to bury them; promise me you'll take better care of yourself next time, okay Ethan?"

Ethan remained looking at her for a couple of seconds, and finally nodded. It had been quick: they were looking for supplies when a little group started shooting at them, making them take cover; Ethan had tried to convince them to stop… they didn't look like hunters after all, but a little group that only wanted to live. Probably those people just saw them and just expected the worst; that was the norm after all in the free zones.

"They were probably just like us, but maybe after suffering too much."

"They could've joined us… but they gave us no choice," Dom replied.

Ethan understood those words. They had met Dom and Julie in a similar way, only that something back then had prevented them from killing themselves; none of them had talked about that since then, ignoring the subject, but apparently Liz had something to do with it. They were a young couple; not older that thirty; they had spent most of their lives inside a quarantine zone, but eventually Dom made too many enemies even in a safe zone, so they had to flee if they didn't wanted to end up killed.

"I understand," Ethan replied back then, when they were talking about it, "they're supposed to be safe zones, and a lot of people try to enter them because of that… yearning for peace… but in the end it's not a better food chain that the one on the outside… if you're weak the strong one will come after you… if you're the strong one… you have to go after the weaklings before another strong one comes after you."

Dom had a reason though, and it was Julie, his girlfriend, who has indeed beautiful; they didn't talk about it but Ethan could see that things like that were a problem in this world; rapes and murder were normal in quarantine zones after all. He wasn't alone; he had to take core of both of them, and indeed Julie alongside the happiness also brought problems to his life; several fights with a local mafia like group inside the military ended up in him killing a lieutenant, and that marked the end of that life; they had to escape through the sewers leaving everything behind.

"But every time I see you," he added, while looking at Julie, "I know it was worth it."

But the real reason behind them joining Ethan was that they only wanted to find a peaceful place, with moral codes, and they would find it within the Fireflies; yes, it was true that the Fireflies were the enemies of the military, but they already had a bounty for the both of them, and it was the Fireflies the ones that still tried to create a cure and end all that mess; they were the ones that still had hope. And it was thanks to the last member of the group that they now had that; a direction: John was the quiet type and a little grumpy, but he was a Firefly. They had found him seriously wounded while looking for supplies; that was the daily task, and while it wasn't easy at first, being him quite distrustful, Liz treating his injuries and they sharing their food finally convinced him that they weren't hostiles, and in the end they had a new member, but most importantly, they now had at last a goal: being a Firefly he knew where they were, and sharing their location was indeed what Ethan and the rest needed more than food or water: they finally had a direction: Salt Lake City.

But it also meant a bad new: the plan was joining Marlene there, where they had their own QZ outside the reach of the military, but the journey across the country was proving to be crushing for the group; every day was nothing that they getting ambushed by hunters or infected, having to split up in every stop, John's team consisted of the ones that were left out in Pittsburgh, or rather the group that he chose to help having to option of leaving them behind; the others carried out the plan without them and blew up the bridge with C4 to manage to escape from the hunters. John and his group had barely escaped going through the sewers.

"It was two months ago," John remembered

"I was attacked there too, one month ago," Ethan replied, "I wonder for how long they've been there killing everyone that dares to walk around that place."

It was then than a memory came to his head: he still remembered Henry and Sam, mostly because they were the first persons that didn't try to kill him after leaving his live as a hunter, but to be honest now the memories weren't that clear; he couldn't manage to remember Sam's face… but with what he had now it was fine, he thought.

"Were you alone or with the girl back then?"

"I met two people, but… we split up… they were planning to join you guys."

"I only wish the best for them, so they may not end up like my group… I tried to help them and here I am, being the only survivor, and that last one was only thanks to you."

Ethan was the only one with whom John talked more than a few lines, maybe because out of respect.

They had been going to weeks by foot as a group, although they didn't had progressed too much, having to flank cities and only enter little towns to search for food. At least in rural areas they didn't have that much trouble, thanks to Julie, who had a bow and was good at hunting for animals; Ethan still had problems with that word. Most of the times after encountering other people they would manage to escape; that afternoon was the first time they had to kill in self-defense, and while no one was hurt, other that Ethan's arm thing, he just couldn't stop thinking about the lives that had ended that day, and more so, that those things happened every day in that world, world that he had helped to shape.

Ethan's past was no secret to anyone, and everyone had handled it in their own way, but something had kept them together, and made them trust one another; they didn't argue that often other than trivial topics, and could work as a team and share their food; it was so different from his life with Francis and the others.

"You know what? I think you guys are mi family," he commented on one meal, "… don't feel uncomfortable about that… I just wanted to say it… ehm…" the uncomfortable silence only made Liz's little laugh stood out, followed by the others laughing too.

Night was falling, so they entered the forest far from the ghost town, looking for a place to pass the night. Dom was the one that found a cave deep enough for them to hide in; that night was his turn guarding the group in their sleep, and with a cave that hidden it would mean that was delayed. In the middle of the night they started the last meal before going to sleep. They couldn't see each other that clearly because of the darkness, but somehow everyone knew where the others were.

"What's bugging you?" Dom asked then, noticing Ethan's silence.

"I was a hunter… and by that I can tell you those people weren't… I wonder how much a person can handle before ending like that… the point of no return… even I doubt about pulling the trigger… I wonder what their story was… and that we will never know it… it's lost forever."

"You can't save everyone," Liz replied, getting what he was trying to say, "We may not be that many, but remember that we're here having this meal before going to sleep thanks to you… if it weren't for you Dom and Julie would still be by themselves… and John and me would've probably..."

The truth was that Liz was getting stronger; Ethan was protective about her, but not too much, even training her about how to use a gun, and even if she was still scared of some things, she wasn't the same girl that he had found two weeks ago, who had given up all hope, waiting to die.

"Thanks, Liz, truly, but I'll take a short walk outside, I need to think about some things… I don't think anything will happen but in case something does I'll just do the code, "the code was three claps.

Once outside he noticed it: it was weird being in the middle of a forest in complete silence, only hearing the wind blow. The last time he remembered being like that was just before Pittsburgh. He looked at the cave's entrance and thought about how in just a month everything had changed. Francis and Mike weren't with him anymore, but now he was with people that he wanted to be with. Yes, it hadn't been easy, and he had endured a lot since then, and it sure wouldn't get any better in the future, but being surrounded by people like him… it was worth it.

Yes, it was.

"I know how you feel," he then heard behind him; it was John.

In some way, he then felt John as a close friend, like he had known him for years.

"How was your life before joining the Fireflies?"

"I lived in a QZ… and to be honest I didn't care that much about the rest… at least until my brother died… he was killed because of a debt…he was good at getting those… I only wanted revenge and found my way to the fucker that had killed him… but having him there, crying and not wanting to die made me realize… he was just another one… and getting my hands all bloody wouldn't change the fact that my brother had died, and that people like him would still exist, thanks to this world… he was just another pawn… that's when I thought about the only way out of this mess… a cure, and a second chance for everyone."

It was then that a painful memory crossed Ethan's mind, maybe one that he didn't want to remember at all, suppressed for a lot of years, his throat was starting to break when he started looking at the floor, to then raise his head again; it was the moment to let it go.

"I was just the opposite… I had a sister… Diane," just saying her name felt like a kick right to his chest, "We lives in a QZ, until some strikes began… against the military, or it was more the attempt of some criminals to take over the city; we had to escape with others in our same situation, and tried to get to the nearest QZ going through the free zones to get there… we were… used to the life in the QZ, so in a way we had forgotten how was the world outside; we were hungry and desperate, some of us tried to kill the others to steal what little they had… we had to kill them; it was a living hell, but then we tried to look for food in a city… and we're ambushed by hunters: it was a slaughter… and I lost her… it was then than the world became pitch black for me… until then I had never asked myself that question; a reason to live… I found my way into the QZ, but they denied my entrance; I begged to get inside, but the only thing I got was a gun pointed at my head if I didn't leave that place… it all had been for nothing… my sister had died for nothing… I wondered looking for someone to just kill me and put me out of my misery, but when I finally found someone… another hunter, I recognized him, and he did too; an old friend that I thought was dead a long time ago… he took me to his group… they were indeed hunters," he then made a pause, so long that John almost interrupts him, "but I didn't think more than what I and my sister had to endure… I only wanted revenge on the world that had taken her from me, and so I joined them… I sold myself to the only way of life that world knew… I could do it too, by playing their game…"

"You wanted revenge at all cost."

"And I sold myself for it… years later we found those hunters that had killed her… and I did get my revenge," holding a deep breath he continued, "but you're right.. it didn't change the fact that my sister had died… nothing returned… the pain continued; what I lost would never come back… never."

Ethan hadn't talked about exactly how many years he spent as a hunter, but John didn't find that detail important. And it was in that precise moment that Ethan thought that he had failed as a person, standing right next to someone that had made the right choice in a similar situation.

"I haven't talked about Diane with anyone else… not even Liz."

"Just remember that even with all the things that you've done, with everything you've endured… now you are here," John knew what was inside his head, "remember that now you're Ethan once more."

"Thank you, John."

They just sat down there in silence just looking at the trees, until Ethan noticed he was feeling sleepy and decide to go back to the cave, having John following him.

Before falling asleep only one thing was inside his head: Diane's last words, and he whispered them so low than only he could hear them.

"You are special, you'll make great things."

* * *

 **A/N: And so their journey to Salt Lake City has begun, as always thank you for reading.**


	4. Guardian

**Chapter 4 –Guardian**

"Anna, run!" Ethan yelled as he emptied his last mag shooting at one of the runners that were following them, "Open the door now, so we can get out!" Anna ran immediately looking for the keys on one of the desks, unlocking the door in less than a full second; she and Ethan barely escaped from that house that, for quite a long time, had been a safe place for her. It all had been too sudden for both of them; just a couple of minutes after their psychological battle; right now priorities were in place, and escaping alive was the goal.

They ran for quite some time and finally lost the infected, but just as Ethan took a moment to catch his breath, Anna punched him in the face so hard that it made him fall to the ground in the middle of that forest.

"What was all that shit back there?!" she yelled at him, not calm at all, "I've been around here for a whole fuckin' week, never even seeing one of those, and then you come and the place is crawling with them in seconds!"

He got back up quickly and, after one second thinking about striking back, he decided yo only answer with words.

"What? I've got nothing to do with that… to begin with, you were the one that captured me and forced me to go to that place; as I already told you, I'm with a group and besides… what would I gain from… somehow… guiding some infected to your place?... so they can free me and then kill me? You're not making sense at all" and Anna did see that eventually, although her internal battle was as real as the expression on her face; at last she calmed a little and let out a sigh.

"Anyway… you are going to help me recover that house" she then told him, not like an order, but like a plain fact, "I had a motive to be there, you know? I've got food, weapons and a car… you can help me and then I'll share a little… you guys must be hungry."

And indeed they were; Ethan and his group were running short on food for the last three days; even with Julie and her hunting skills. They were even considering making a stop on a town on the way, or in the worst case, a city.

"It better be a lot" Ethan finally answered, "But why the car?"

"Are you really stupid enough to think I plan on living in this god forsaken place for the rest of my life waiting for the first jackass or infected to come by and kill me? I stole that car from a town going down the north; I've done some visits there to get food and gas… I was planning on getting enough to give me some good days and then getting out of here… or it was that way until you came and now the plan is 'just get back whatever you can and get out'."

"Where were you planning to go?"

"A QZ, of course."

"I guess you already know those places are not that safe to begin with," he immediately remembered him being negated the access to one of them, and Dom having to escape from one as well.

"That may be you opinion… I had a pretty good life, until some clickers decided to play sneaky and got into the downtown; the military was fucking useless as always and we had to run for our lives and then live as stray dogs on the outside, until some other infected decided they would play sneaky too… I had to jump from a third floor… no idea how I got out unharmed, but that's how it is… and of course I was the only one that made it, with life being as shitty as usual."

Anna had captured him, handcuffed him and then locked him in that house, but she was also a victim and a lonely one too. He thought about how regardless of how you were on the inside, most of your attitude was defined by your experiences; Anna wasn't a bad person, even with her mouth and her aggressiveness; maybe she wouldn't have always been that way; maybe ending up alone had played its part; of course there was the other option; maybe she had always been like that, and he was just being overly positive about it.

"Hear me out" he then told her, with Liz and the others in his head, "I was supposed to meet up with my group by a waterfall, but right now I don't even know where I'm standing; you should be familiar with this forest: give me food and guide me there and I'll help you with everything I've got; after all I'll be fighting for my food too if that's the case."

Ethan had been walking alongside his group, when he fell down a gully; he could still hear them, but there was no way of getting back up there, so they decided to meet up at a waterfall that they all could see from that place, but just as he started walking towards it, he ended up being an easy target for Anna, who welcomed him with her rifle pointing at his head.

They decided to rest for a little longer after escaping with every inch of energy they had at that moment, and Anna gave him some bullets after noticing that he only had a couple of them left; she was definitely ready, with her bulletproof vest and carrying her guns, proving her stance towards his daily life. Unfortunately while escaping Ethan had no time to get his shotgun, which Anna took after capturing him. And being her the one most knowledgeable about the terrain, he decided to be the one who'd only follow her orders; the plan was attacking them from the top of some trees, high enough to keep the infected from reaching them and strong enough to resist the hits. The only problem was the distance, so they had to be accurate while shooting, as the idea was getting most of them before they ended up at the base of the trees: Anna had his trusty rifle, so Ethan was the one more troubled.

They were both in position, in different trees to keep them from focusing on one too much, but close enough to be able to talk to each other without trouble.

"You better be good with that thing," Anna told him just when they were about to start; it was obvious that she was more experienced.

"I'd be better with my shotgun… just saying."

"Use a shotgun from this distance and you'll finish by tomorrow at night," but right then she saw how he was holding his pistol, close to his eyes as possible to improve his accuracy, "hey hey hey, hold on, this ain't close quarters, put that thing as far as you can from your head; you gotta extend those arms if you want your bullets to actually hit them."

There were fifteen outside and some more inside the house, and probably others nearby that would join the fight once the gunshots started. There were four clickers, which were their priority; Anna would kill them with her rifle while Ethan would take care of the runners focusing on shooting at their legs to stop them from getting too close; if things went wrong plan B would be using one grenade that he had.

They were both ready, as he was just waiting for her signal, aiming at one of the runners, while Anna had the head of a clicker in his eyes. Then it began; all the runners started running towards the trees after the first headshot, leaving the clickers behind totally exposed for Anna to finish them; Ethan was just shooting at everything that moved, having to reload extremely fast, almost dropping the mag while doing it, and then he realized her advice was right, as his shots were precise as never in his life; he was an average shooter after all. Soon enough the four clickers were dead but the base of the trees were crawling with runners; Ethan and Anna just started spamming shots down there until nothing moved anymore; they didn't have to use the grenade at the end, although Ethan was out of bullets.

They looked at each other; some seconds of silence between them, and then, at the exact same time, they started laughing.

"It worked," he said, from his tree, "I guess I was starting to get used to expect them to fail."

"That's because it was my plan; how do you think I'm still alive when there are hunters just down the road in that town? They don't even know I exist and I get to steal food and gas from them."

Smiling, Ethan started to carefully drop down, while Anna just made a jump. But then a runner appeared from nowhere and attacked her; Ethan immediately took out his gun forgetting about him having no bullets, only hearing the clicking sound when he tried to shoot it down; Anna was fighting with all her might to keep the runner from biting her, but that thing was slowly defeating her. Desperately, Ethan threw the gun at the runner, and then proceeded to hit it with his bare fists, focusing on his head, without even thinking about him getting seizures from the thing's tooth and getting infected; he just kept hitting that thing's face until nothing could be made out of it.

"Thanks…" she told him, after getting up, a little disturbed by the sudden fight.

It was then that he checks his fists, they weren't hurt.

They looked at each other again and made their way to the house, which was intact; Ethan got his shotgun and yet again they again looked at each other, but only to notice that they both were starving.

"Don't worry, this is my treat," she told him, indicating some food cans.

And so they started eating in complete peace, while the sun was setting.

"Ok, there's your food; take only what's on the table," she told him, remembering their deal, "I almost left you some bullets, and a gift… that may be useful for you and your group."

Ethan could see the table, and how it was indeed a lot of food, next to some bullets and a rifle; it wasn't the one she carried, as this one lacked the scope.

"How many are you guys?" She asked.

"Four, myself included."

"Wow, I gave you food for ten at least… if you know how to make it last it should give you some time not worrying about food at all… and thank you again," her tone changed while saying that, to a more serious one, "I think I've never been so close to die in my life", he could see that she also remembered his attitude while saving her, "… why…?"

"Why don't you join us?" He interrupted her, to her surprise, "we are going to a QZ as well; the one that the Fireflies have."

Anna started looking at the floor, only to raise her head again and look at the red sky.

"The QZ where I lived, that… it was a good place, until I arrived and in just one year it ended up like a ghost town… then the group in which I was… I was the only survivor… and what hurt me the most was… there was a little person… this fuckin' person… that I cared about… even when I was not needed."

"I used to date someone", Ethan told her, realizing that that could have been their last conversation, "but it ended like always… when you can't protect what you love…"

"I'm sorry for your loss, Ethan, I really am," she replied, respectfully, "but it's not like that in my case… even so, I guess I don't care about it anymore; I just don't want to be with anybody, I just want to know that if I die, I die alone and that's it, it ends there… I don't want to carry more corpses in my life… and don't get me wrong, but I don't expect things to change anymore… maybe at the start, it was nice thinking they would find a cure and it would all be just like before… I wish the best for them, but I don't think they'll ever find a cure".

Ethan felt it; he didn't want her to leave, but he only could stood there and realize that he just couldn't convince her; he didn't want to admit that, he didn't want to leave someone behind. He knew that he couldn't tell if she would make it to some QZ; she definitely knew how to defend herself, but even so he didn't want to leave her; he felt that it was wrong, but just couldn't find the justification, and there he was, having a last chat with her. Anna could've killed him when she captured him, or in the house, or she could've just left him when the infected attacked them, but it only took him a couple of words between them to know for certain that she wasn't a bad person; she wasn't a predator, and she did that as well, and that was what forced her to untie him when the first runner entered the house through the window.

He took the rifle, put the food in his backpack that barely could keep up with all that food, and put the bullets inside his pockets. They looked at each other for the last time, like saying goodbye with their eyes only.

"Do you see that road?" She told him, "you have to follow it until you reach two tall pines, each one marked with an 'x'… well, that's not the way, but from there you'll be able to see the waterfall you told me about earlier, but be careful as the way is quite twisted, but always follow the empty cans I left… originally it was my way of going to that town I told you about, but you'll be able to use it to get to your friends… and of course don't go to the town, at least if you don't want those hunters to get funny with you."

Just as he was making his way, he could see her getting the car ready for her own journey.

"What are you looking at?" She told him, "you got what you needed, now go; your friends must be waiting for you!"

Defeated, he started walking, leaving the house and Anna behind. It was weird; he had met her in the worst way possible and only for a few hours but even so he felt sad about leaving her, leaving and empty feeling inside him. And it was that felling that made him turn around and look at her one last time.

He started running with all his energy immediately.

It was the hunters from that town, and they were shooting at her, who was taking cover behind her car. They were trying to flank her and he realized he wouldn't be able to get there in time, so he just took the rifle she had given to him and started shooting at them, getting their attention after taking one out, leaving about five alive. He reloaded and shot again, using his distance to his advantage, making their pistols less effective at that range. He shot again and killed another one, to then realize one was trying to escape, probably to call the other hunters back at the town; he reloaded as quickly as he could and shot him before that. But it was then that he felt a bullet passing just by his side, realizing that one of them had a rifle too; he climbed the tree that was right next to him and from there he identified the hunter with the rifle and killed him; one bullet later the hunters were dead, and after a quick jump he started running towards the car to see if Anna was hurt.

When he arrived, he realized she had a lot of wounds in her torso, some blocked by her bulletproof vest, but some others not; her chest was all bloody and she was breathing agitatedly.

He immediately took out her vest to see her wounds, but then he saw that he had at least four deep wounds, and the bleeding wasn't stopping. She was losing consciousness, while still being able to see him.

"I'm sorry Ethan… looks… like I…fu…"

"No! That's not true! I'll help you!" He interrupted her, looking inside his backpack for some kind of bandages or anything that could help, only finding the food cans she had given him.

"Don't worry…" She said, holding his hand with what little energy she had, almost as if she was stopping him, "it's not that bad… maybe this was the way… things would end…"

"What are you talking about, Anna?! We'll go meet my group… there's a person that knows about this stuff! C'mon! Try to get up!"

"Just protect the ones you love… Ethan… try not to end up like this failure right here…"

Ethan could just realize in shock that she was dying in his hands, while he was trying to get her up; using her car would make things faster; he was lost, knowing that he wasn't the right one for that job, not even knowing if her wounds weren't plain fatal. Finally he could sweep her in his arms, getting his shirt all bloody, and started walking to the car, while his eyes were starting to water, and talking to her at all times to keep her awake.

"We'll help you, Anna! I won't let you die here, keep your eyes open please… you'll know my group… John looks like a shitty person but he's just the quiet type and he's a Firefly; Dom can be a little cocky from time to time but you can trust him; Julie is an expert hunter… the animal hunter though… I'll give her the rifle you gave me, and Liz just wants to help everyone she can… she'll help you! ... Anna? Anna?"

He looked down, only to look at her with her eyes closed, without moving or breathing anymore; he checked her pulse quickly and it was too late: she was dead. He fell to the ground with her body in his arms and hugged her while crying. He didn't care if the others hunters were to hear his cries, nor if they shot him, or killed him. Nothing was important at that moment.

Anna had died in his arms.

He dug a grave not so close to the house, fearing that someone could mess it up, and gently put her body in there. As he was looking at the wooden stick that marked her grave he could only think about what he had felt after their goodbye. He wanted to hit himself, thinking about what would've happened if he just had kept by her side just a little longer, fighting together those hunters, but that only lasted a couple of seconds, after thinking about it didn't matter; it wouldn't change how things ended up. Nothing would do it.

He went to her house, noticing her car, he looked in the direction in which her grave was, just like when they looked at each other, and then he got into the car. He looked at the grave for one last time, and followed the path she had told him.

He eventually got to those two pines and from there he could see the waterfall and the town too.

He went to the waterfall.

But it was then that he felt something, and checked the glovebox: a drink, some food and a pistol.

But he also found a photo, quite deteriorated, but not too much to not being recent. He could see Anna, who looked surprisingly happy, completely different from the Anna he had met; right next to her was a man, in his fifties, and a young girl, probably his daughter. He stopped the car to look carefully at the photo: it was Liz, without a doubt.

He felt a sharp pain in his chest after understanding everything, remembering Anna's words.

He eventually got to the waterfall, where the rest were waiting for him, although at first they ambushed him, until they recognized him and laughed about it. Liz ran him to hug him; Ethan could only feel that sharp pain returning, going through his whole body.

"Take this, Julie," he told her, "you're quite good with the bow so I guess this rifle will be even better for you… it's got a scope."

"How did you get all of this?" Dom asked, with a smile in his face. Ethan didn't answer immediately; instead he looked at Liz. He had his doubts. She was smiling, happy about finding him, different from that terrified Liz that he had met; she had changed.

Was it worth it?

"I found it at an abandoned house."

He wondered why, while talking to Anna as she was dying, he ended up mentioning Liz the last.

* * *

 **Any kind of review is welcome! Sorry for not updating in such a long time**

 **A/N: Canceled story. I'm sorry if you liked it, but it takes time to translate my chapters and I don't even know if I'm doing a good work or not. Have a nice day and thanks for reading!**


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